Diffuser swing mechanism



Dec. 31, 1963 h, BORN 3,116,021 DIFFUSER SWING MECHANISM I Filed Nov.15, 1962 J7z0e z 0 Kaeri zrziam W 54% e fyembww 'Dec. .31, 1963 l R. E.BORN DIFFUSER swmc MECHANISM Filed i ov. 15, 1962' Deb. 31, 1963 R. E.BORN DIFFUSER swmc MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 15, 1962 Dave77/529?" @562"? 1'7. B6770 United States Patent 3,116,021 BlFF USERSWENG ll/ZEQHANESM Robert E. Ecru, Eroatlview, ilk, assignor to TheAmerican Well Works, a corporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 115, 1962,Ser. No. 237,964 ill @lairns. (Ql. 2398) This invention relates :to adiffuser swing mechanism for use in a sewage tank installation in whichan array of diffuser units are mounted in submerged relation and moreparticularly the invention is concerned with a simplified swingmechanism capable of actuating a diffuser array from lowered to raisedposition under the control of a straight line motion type actuator.

The invention is concerned with a swing diffuser mechanism comprisinggenerally aligned upper and lower air pipes communicating through aliexible hose disposed within hollow housing structure bridged betweenadjacent ends of the pipes and defining a knee-joint providing a hingeaxis for accommodating swinging movement of the lower pipe from itssubmerged iii-use position to its ele vated invented position. The lowerpipe carries the diffuser unit array at its lower end and when insubmerged in-use position, locates this array in the bottom of thesewage tank and when in its elevated position locates this array at anelevated position above a tank catwalk to facilitate cleaning andmaintenance operations. The up per pipe is stationary and permanentlyconnected to an air header junction ailixed to the catwalk and the lowerpipe is longer than the upper pipe so as to proiect above the catwalkwhen the lower pipe is elevated.

A double armed swing linkage is pivoted to vertically spaced relativelymovable locations on the hinge structure and is pivoted to a commoncrank rod that is shittable verti ally for imparting swinging movementto the lower pipe. Simple straight line movement of the crank rodeffects the required raising and lowering of the diffuser array byswinging movement of the lower pipe. Thus, this difiuser swing mechanismfacilitates operation by a simple straight line motion device, such as abumperjack. Facilities are provided for locking the carts in either ofthe extreme positions to free the bumpenjac; for use at other stations.

The adjacent ends or" the air pipes terminate in come spondinglyobliquely directed end stubs that angle towards the hinge axis andreceive flexible hose in a fashion to dispose the same in an arcuateconfiguration that facilitates necessary distortion of the hose forfollowing the swinging movement of the lower pipe without imposingfracturing and rupturing stresses upon the hose and without imposingtension forces such as might disengage the hose from the stub ends.

in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and inwhich like numerals are eninloyed to designate like parts throughout thesame;

FIG. 1 is a s e elevational view of a sewage tank equipped wtih aditiuser swing mechanism in accordance with this invention andillustrating the pants in their normal submerged in-use position;

FIG. 1A is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the header andillustrates the mechanism for positively clamping the parts in theposition of MG. 1;

Fl'G. 2 is a perspective view of the diffuser swing med anism andshowing a bumper-jack type actuator employed therewith, with the partsbeing illustrated in their elevate position;

FlG. 2A is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating aclevis connection for anchoring the parts in their elevated position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the kneejoint structure,with parts thereof brolten away and sectioned to facilitate disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the knee-joint of FIG. 3; and

HG. 5 is a side elevational view of the knee-joint illustratnig theparts thereof in folded position.

Referring now to the drawings, a sewage aeration tank is shown in FIGS.1 and 2 as including a vertical wall 16 terminating in a laterallyenlarged hollow upper end providing a catwalk ll. A difiuser swingmechanism, as designated generally at 12, is shown extending verticallyalong side the wall it and includes a box-shaped header l3 rigidlyaffixed to the catwalk ll adjacent one edge thereof and projectingtherebeyond.

The diffuser swing mechanism 12 comprises upper and lower air pipes l4and 15, respectively, generally vertically aligned and mechanicallyinterconnected by hollow housing structure 16 that defines a kncejointto accommodate swinging movement of the lower pipe 15 between itssubmerged in-use position of FIG. 1 and its elevated position of FIG. 2.

T he lower pipe 15 carries an array of diffuser units D at its lower endto dispose the dir'luser units D within the bottom of the sewage tankduring normal operation and to enable elevation of the diffuser uni-ts Dto a position above the catwalk 11 to enable cleaning and othernecessary maintenance operations. Air for the array of diffuse-r unitsis supplied through the pipes 14- and 15 and for this purpose the upperpipe i3 is fixed within the header 13 which has an air inlet port 13(see FIG. 1) adapted for connection to any suitable source of air (notshown). The adjacent ends of the pipes 14 and 15 are connected by aflexible hose 17 (see FIG. 3).

In accordance with one feature of this invention, a unique knee-jointand hose connection and arrangement is employed to simplify theconstruction and operation of the equipment. The details of thisstructure are best shown in FlGS. 3, 4 and 5. The knee-joint 16 includesan upper hinge plate structure 18 rigidly ailixed to the lower end ofthe upper pipe 1 and a lower hinge plate structure 19 rigidly atfixed tothe upper end of the lower pipe. The upper hinge plate structure 13includes a generally horizontal mounting wall 18W carrying a pair ofdepending laterally spaced vertical plates and correspondingly the lowerhinge plate structure 1% comprises a lower mounting wail 19W carrying apair of upstanding laterally spaced vertical plates 1?? arranged forclose fitting estable relation with the plates 118i of the upper hingeplate structure.

'lhe plates till and 1?? are assembled in partially overlapping relationand stub axles 2i) interconnect the same to define a hinge axis atcorresponding plate corner portions located outboard of the line of thepipes 14 and 1.5. A cross-strap 18C spans the plates 18? at the oppositelower co-rner regions thereof and a cross-strap 19C spans the plates 19?at the opposite upper corner regions thereof. These cross-straps 18C and15% are arranged to abut and define the aligned position of the pipes.

The swing link mechanism 12 for effecting pivoting movement of the lowerpipe 15' includes a first pair of swing links 21 hinged liO the platesill-P of the upper hinge structure by axle stubs 22 located adjacentoutboard upper corner regions of these plates lid-P, and a second pairof links 23 hinged to the plate l9? of the lower hinge structure by axlestubs 2 4' located at outboard lower corner regions of the plates 13?.Crank rod 25 for operating these hinge links is of double armedconstruction and at its lower end carries a pivot axle 2s hingedlyconnected to the free ends of each of the hinge links 21 and 23.

To accommodate swinging movement of the knee-joint structure from theFIG. 3 position to the MG. 5 position, the flexible hose 17 is trainedto a configuration that permits reverse bending of the same withoutimposition of excessive st ses. Accordingly, the lower end of the upperpipe 141 terminates in a stub end 14E directed at an oblique angle tothe vertical line of the pipe and correspondingly the upper end of thelower pipe terminates in a stub end 1513 directed at a correspondingoblique angle. The stub ends It l-E and 15B are directed generallytowards the hinge axis of the knee-joint and are effective to train theiiexible hose along an arcuate line that is displaced from the pipe linein the direction of the hinge axis.

in the normal in-use position of the mechanism, as illustrated in FIG.1, the crank is clamped in its downward position. For this purpose, theupper end of the double armed crank carries a cross-pin 27 that isengaged by a clamp 23 secured upon the header by a permanently mountedstud 29 and cooperating nut The crank 25 thus exerts reaction throughthe swing links 23 to oppose any upward swinging movement of the lowerpipe such as might be imparted by the buoyant eiiect of the sewage uponthe submerged hollow parts. The entire assembly is stabilized in itsin-use position by means of a stabilizer rod 31 that is affixed to thecross-brace 13C of the upper hinge structure. The stabilizer rod 31 isequipped with a shoe 318 that engages the side wall It? of the tank. Theholding force exerted by the crank in this position of the parts, actsabout a fulcrum point defined at the pivot axles 22 of the upper swinglinks 21.

As mentioned previously, to swing the diffuser array to an elevatedposition, a straight line motion actuator, such as a bumper-jack, may beemployed. The jack is designated geenrally at 32 in FIG. 2 and ispreferably of the hydraulic type and is mounted on a wheeled carriage32C. The header box 13 is equipped with upstanding cars 1313 and pivotstandards to facilitate rigid securement of the jack base to the header.The lifter element 32L of the jack is equipped with a yoke 32Y ofinverted U-shaped form that receives the outer ends of the crosspin 27carried at the upper end of the crank 25.

With the jack 32 poistioned upon the header 1?} and with its lifter 32Lattached to the crank 25, the jack is operated in the conventionalmanner to pull the crank up and exert full force through the swing linkmechanism. This force acts about the fulcrum defined by the axle stubs22, at the upper corner of the upper hinge plate struc ture to cause thelower pipe 15 to swing about the hinge axis 2b of the knee-joint untilit reaches a vertical position extending alongside the upper pipe 14 andprojecting thereabove to dispose the difiuser array in position forconvenient access.

It is contemplated that the jack may at this time be disengaged for useat another station. To secure the parts in elevated position, the lowerpipe 15 is provided with a clevis 33 at an intermediate point and theclevi-s 33 is engaged upon the stud 2% provided on the header.

When it is desired to lower the diffuser array to its submergedposition, the jack 32 is employed again to provide a gradual release. inthe case of a hydraulic jack, the release valve rod (not shown) mayconveniently be appropriately regulated durin the lowering operation.

It should be understood that the description of the preferred form ofthe invention is for the purpose of complying with Section 112, Title35, or" the US. Code and that the claims should be construed as broadlyas prior art will permit.

What is claimed is:

1. A diffuser swing mechanism, upper and lower rigid pipes arranged ingenerally vertical alignment, a kneejoint intermediate of adjacent endsof said pipes and connecting the same for relative swinging movementabout a hinge axle intermediate of said pipes, a flexible hose extendingbetween said adjacent ends of said pipes, a mechanism for swinging saidlower pipe about said axis to an inverted position alongside said upperpipe and including a first swing link having one end pivoted to 4 saidknee-joint at a location above said axis, a second swin link having oneend pivoted to said knee-joint at a location below said axis, and agenerally vertical crank pivotally connected to opposite ends of saidswing links at a location outboard of the line of said pipes and movablevertically upwardly in response to an externally applied lifting forceto swing said lower pipe about said axis to said inverted position.

2. In a diffuser swing mechanism, upper and lower rigid pipes arrangedin generally vertical alignment, a knee-joint intermediate of adjacentends of said pipes and connecting the same for relative swingingmovement about a hinge axis vertically intermediate and laterallyoutboard of the line of said pipes, a flexible hose extending betweensaid adjacent ends of said pipes, a mechanism for swinging said lowerpipe about said axis to an inverted position alongside said upper pipeand including a first swing link having one end pivoted to saidknee-joint at a location above said axis and laterally closer to theline of said pipes, a second swing link having one end pivoted to saidknee-joint at a location below said axis and laterally closer to theline of said pipes, and a generally vertical crank having a common pointpivotally connected to opposite ends of said swing links at a locationsubstantially at the elevation of said axis and farther outboard of theline of said pipes and movable vertically upwardly in response to anexternally applied lifting force to swing said lower pipe about saidaxis to said inverted position.

3. In a diffuser swing mechanism, upper and lower rigid pipes arrangedin generally vertical alignment, a knee-joint intermediate of adjacentends of said pipes, said knee-joint comprising upper hinge platestructure rigid with the lower end of said upper pipe and carrying apair of depending laterally spaced vertical hinge plates, lower hingeplate structure rigid with the upper end of the lower pipe and providinga pair of upstanding laterally spaced vertical hinge plates for partialinterleaving with the first-named hinge plates, axle means connectingsaid hinge plates for relative swinging movement about a horizontalhinge axis located intermediate of said pipes and outboard of the lineof said pipes, means providing interengaging abutment between said upperand lower hinge plate structures when the pipes are in general verticalalignment to prevent lateral inward flexing of the knee-joint, aflexible hose disposed within said hinge plate structures and extendingbetween said adjacent ends of said pipes, a mechanism for swinging saidlower pipe laterally outward about said axis to an inverted positionalongside said upper pipe and including a first swing link having oneend pivoted to said knee-joint at a location above said axis, a secondswing link having one end pivoted to said knee-joint at a location belowsaid axis, and a generally vertical crank pivotally connected toopposite ends of said swing links at a location outboard of the line ofsaid pipes and movable vertically upwardly in response to an externallyapplied lifting force to swing said lower pipe about said axis to saidinverted position.

4. In a dilfuser swing mechanism, upper and lower rigid pipes arrangedin generally vertical alignment, a knee-joint intermediate of adjacentends of said pipes, said knee-joint comprising upper hinge platestructure rigid with the lower end of said upper pipe and carrying apair of depending laterally spaced vertical hinge plates, lower hingeplate structure rigid with the upper end of the lower pipe and providinga pair of upstanding laterally spaced vertical hinge plates for partialinterleaving with the first-named hinge plates, axle means connectingsaid hinge plates for relative swinging movement about a horizontalhinge axis located intermediate of said pipes and outboard of the lineof said pipes, means providing interengaging abutment between said upperand lower hinge plate structures when the pipes are in general verticalalignment to prevent lateral inward flexing of the knee-joint, aflexible hose disposed within said hinge plate structures and extendingbetween said adjacent ends of said pipes, a mechanism for swinging saidlower pipe laterally outward about said axis to an inverted positionalongside said upper pipe and including a first swing link having oneend pivoted to said knee-joint at a location above said axis andlaterally closer to the line of said pipes, a second swing link havingone end pivoted to said knee-joint at a location below said axis andlaterally closer to the line of said pipes, and a generally verticalcrank having a common point pivotally connected to opposite ends of saidswing links at a location substantially at the elevation of said axisand farther outboard of the line of said pipes and movable verticallyupwardly in response to an externally applied lifting force to swingsaid lower pipe about said axis to said inverted position.

5. In a diffuser swing mechanism that includes upper and lower rigidpipes arranged in generally vertical alignment, a diffuser array carriedon said lower pipe, means including a knee-joint intermediate ofadjacent ends of said pipes and operating means for flexing saidknee-joint to swing the lower pipe between an aligned lower in-useposition and an elevated inverted position alongside the upper pipe; theimprovement wherein said knee-joint comprises upper structure fixed tothe lower end of said upper pipe, lower structure fixed to the upper endof said lower pipe, means pivotally interconnecting said structures forswinging movement about a hinge axis located outboard of the line ofsaid pipes and a flexible hose extending between said adjacent ends ofsaid pipe, and wherein said operating means comprises a first swing linkhaving one end pivoted to said upper structure at a location above saidhinge axis, a second swing link having one end pivoted to said lowerstructure at a location below said axis, and a generally vertical crankpivotally connected to opposite ends of said swing links at a locationoutboard of the line of said pipes and movable vertically upwardly inresponse to an externally applied lifting force to swing said lower pipeabout said axis to an inverted position.

6. In a diffuser swing mechanism that includes upper and lower rigidpipes arranged in generally vertical alignment, a dili'user arraycarried on said lower pipe, means including a knee-joint intermediate ofadjacent ends of said pipes and operating means for flexing saidknee-joint to swing the lower pipe between an aligned lower in-useposition and an elevated inverted position alongside the upper pipe; theimprovement wherein said knee-joint comprises upper structure fixed tothe lower end of said upper pipe, lower structure fixed to the upper endof said lower pipe, means pivotally interconnecting said structures forswinging movement about a hinge axis located vertically intermediate andlaterally outboard of the line of said pipes and a flexible hosextending between said adjacent ends of said pipes, and wherein saidoperating comprises .a first swing link having one end pivoted to saidupper structure at a location above said hinge axis and laterally closerto the line of said pipes, a second swing link having one end pivoted tosaid lower structure at a location below said axis and laterally closerto the line of said pipes, and a generally vertical crank having acommon point pivotally connected to opposite ends of said ends of saidswing links at a location substantially at the elevation of said axisand fa 'ther outboard of the line of said pipes and movable verticallyupwardly in response to externally applied lifting force to swing saidlower pipe about said axis to an inverted position.

7. in a difiuser swing mechanism that includes upper and lower rigidpipes arranged in generally vertical alignment, a diffuser array carriedon said lower pipe, means including a knee-joint intermediate ofadjacent ends of said pipes and operating means for flexing saidknee-joint to swing the lower pipe between an aligned lower in-useposition and an elevated inverted position alongside the upper pipe; theimprovement wherein said knee-joint comprises upper hinge platestructure rigid with the lower end of said upper pipe and carrying apair of depending laterally spaced vertical hinge plates, lower hingeplate structure rigid with the upper end of said lower pipe andproviding a pair or" upstanding laterally spaced vertical hinge platesfor partial interleaving with the first-named hinge plates, axle meanspivotally interconnecting said hinge plate structures for swingingmovement about a hinge axis located vertically intermediate of the endsof said pipes and laterally outboard of the line of said pipes and aflexible hose extending between said adjacent ends of said pipes, andwherein said operating means comprises a first swing link having one endpivoted to said upper structure at a location above said hinge axis, asecond swing link having one end pivoted to said lower structure at alocation below said axis, and a generally vertical crank having a commonpoint pivotally connected to opposite ends of said swing links at alocation substantially at the elevation of said axis and fartheroutboard of the line of said pipes and movable vertically upwardly inresponse to an externally applied lifting force to swing said lower pipeabout said axis to an inverted position.

8. In a diffuser swing mechanism that includes upper and lower rigidpipes arranged in generally vertical alignment, a diliuser array carriedon said lower pipe, means including a knee-joint intermediate ofadjacent ends of said pipes and. operating means for flexing saidknee-joint to swing the lower pipe between an aligned lower in-useposition and an elevated inverted position alongside the upper pipe; theimprovement wherein said knee-joint comprises upper hinge platestructure nigid with the lower end of said upper pipe and carrying apair of depending laterally spaced vertical hinge plates, lower hingeplate structure rigid with the upper end of said lower pipe andproviding a pair of upstanding laterally spaced vertical hinge platesfor partial interleaving with the first-named hinge plates, axle meanspivotally interconnecting said hinge plate structures for swingingmovement about a hinge axis located vertically intermediate of the endsof said pipes and laterally outboard of the line of said pipes and aflexible hose extending between said adjacent ends of said pipes andwherein said operating means comprises a first swing link having onepivoted to said upper structure at a location above said hinge axis andlaterally closer to the line of said pipes, a second swing link havingone end pivoted to said lower structure at a location below said axisand laterally closer to the line of said pipes, and a generally verticalcrank having a common point pivotally connected to opposite ends of saidswing links at a location substantially at the elevation of said axisand farther outboard of the line of said pipes and movable verticallyupwardly in response to an externally applied lifting force to swingsaid lower pipe about said axis to an inverted position.

9. in a diffuser swing mechanism that includes upper and lower rigidpipes arranged in generally vertical alignment, a diffuser array carriedon said lower pipe, means including a knee-joint intermediate ofadjacent ends of said pipes, and operating means for flexing saidknee-joint to swing the lower pipe between an aligned lower in-useposition and an elevated inverted position alongside the upper pipe; theimprovement wherein said knee-joint comprises upper structure fixed tothe lower end of said upper pipe, lower structure fixed to the upper endof said lower pipe, means pivotally interconnecting said structures forswinging movement about a hinge axis located outboard of the line ofsaid pipes, said lower end of the upper pipe terminating in a stubsection directed obliquely to the line of said pipes and facinggenerally toward the hinge axis, said upper end of the lower pipeterminating in a stub sect-ion directed obliquely to the line of saidpipes and correspondingly facing generally toward the hinge axis, and aflexible hose having opposite ends connected to said stub sections toestablish communication therebetween, with said hose being disposed inan arcuate configuration intermediately of said pipes and bowed from.the line of said pipes in a direction towards said hinge axis.

10. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein the lower 7 end of the upper pipeterminates in a stub section directed obliquely to the line of saidpipes and facing generally toward the hinge axis, the upper end of thelower pipe terminates in a stub section directed obliquely to the lineof said pipes and correspondingly facing generally toward the hingeaxis, and said flexible base has opposite ends connected to said stubsections to establish communication 'therebetween, with said hose beingdisposed in an arcuate configuration intermediately of said pipes andbowed from said line in a direction towards said hinge axis.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Baker Mar. 12, 1895 Rosenthal Nov. 17, 1903 LasherDec. 8, 1903 ONeill Sept. 3, 1907 Sticklin Mar. 13, 1917 OHanlon Mar.25, 1930 Campbell Oct. 12, 1943 McMahon Aug. 8, 1961

1. A DIFFUSER SWING MECHANISM, UPPER AND LOWER RIGID PIPES ARRANGED INGENERALLY VERTICAL ALIGNMENT, A KNEEJOINT INTERMEDIATE OF ADJACENT ENDSOF SAID PIPES AND CONNECTING THE SAME FOR RELATIVE SWINGING MOVEMENTABOUT A HINGE AXLE INTERMEDIATE OF SAID PIPES, A FLEXIBLE HOSE EXTENDINGBETWEEN SAID ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID PIPES, A MECHANISM FOR SWINGING SAIDLOWER PIPE ABOUT SAID AXIS TO AN INVERTED POSITION ALONGSIDE SAID UPPERPIPE AND INCLUDING A FIRST SWING LINK HAVING ONE END PIVOTED TO SAIDKNEE-JOINT AT A LOCATION ABOVE SAID AXIS, A SECOND SWING LINK HAVING ONEEND PIVOTED TO SAID KNEE-JOINT AT A LOCATION BELOW SAID AXIS, AND AGENERALLY VERTICAL CRANK PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAIDSWING LINKS AT A LOCATION OUTBOARD OF THE LINE OF SAID PIPES AND MOVABLEVERTICALLY UPWARDLY IN RESPONSE TO AN EXTERNALLY APPLIED LIFTING FORCETO SWING SAID LOWER PIPE ABOUT SAID AXIS TO SAID INVERTED POSITION.